Closet-alia

Welcome to the world of personal style on a budget. I am passionate about fashion and home decor. Love thrift shops,consignment stores and garage sales. A sale room, sale rack, clearance pro who can usually locate the best deal in the store. No brand, label, department store or boutique is out of reach, but retail pricing can be. I focus primarily on the Indianapolis area, Broad Ripple, west to Crawfordsville, IN and Chicago when I am able! Come spend a little time on my adventures!

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Treat weekend for everyone at our house. Treat for my son Will because he was picked up by Grandma and Grandpa on Friday afternoon and came home this afternoon (Sunday). He saw the movie "Cars 2" and got to see his first figure 8 race last night! We had the opportunity to go out for dinner two nights in a row for grown up dinners... and I never had to utter the phrase, " Please sit down on your bottom and eat something." We also got several house projects completed without assistance.

The one project that I wanted to show you from the weekend began with an idea on the blog Apartment Therapy at : http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/organizing/fireplace-book-storage-151433 I was kind of leery of the idea of putting books in the fireplace. Dirty, dusty, cobweb-y were the words I thought of immediately, but after looking through the example photos I decided that it might be worth a shot and certainly better than the pillar candle pyramid with mirror behind. THAT is a trend that has been over for some time and I was tired of it. I was able to thoroughly clean the inside of the fireplace and locate a number of books to use just by shopping my bookshelves at home. I have designs on hitting up the thrift shops to find more vintage books with cool covers but that will have to wait until after vacation next week. So here is my take on... books in the fireplace.

Books in the fireplace... cool or not cool? I really want to find a color scheme, but I need more books!

So that is my take on that idea. It did give my living room a cleaner look and if I am able to find some more interesting book covers I think I could really enjoy this... what do you think?
Good night all, Monday morning awaits....

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Good afternoon to you all! This is just a short post to share my latest find for $5 or under! This very Brady table was located at Trinity Thrift! It was filthy dirty, but look how awesome it is. The table top is laminate and the base must be cast iron because it is really, really heavy! I love it! I am in the process of moving a couple of other things around to make room... what to do, what to do! Anyway for $5, I thought it was fantastic! If this had been in a boutique I am guessing $60+! Happy Thrifting and have a great evening!

Monday, May 16, 2011

Good afternoon! Usually I try to go out to the local thrift shops on Mondays. I always feel like they tend to receive donations over the weekend and the selection is somewhat better on Monday. Today we (my trusty assistant, Will and I) headed to Goodwill and Trinity Thrift.

Goodwill netted only one good find. A cool glass cloche for $.99! It is very pretty now that I have cleaned it up. It was awful and looked like frosted glass, ICK!

Real Simple Magazine had an article about these in their March 2011, issue!

We moved on to Trinity Thrift... I can usually count on at least one fun item. I found the groovy coffee table first. It was marked $10!!!! A solid and I mean solid wood table on metal legs. It is a Lane piece from the early 1970's I would guess. It is awfully cool, and for $10, you really can't go wrong. Here it is already in place in my living room.

I like the low, hefty profile and modern shape of this table.

As Will and I were walking to the register to pay for the table, I glanced into the cases along the wall. An interesting vintage pin caught my eye, so I went in for a closer look. There were so many cool pieces! I had a difficult time choosing just a couple. Here are the ones I took home... there are a number of others that are equally interesting, trust me!

Rhinestone bracelet... perfect $10

roadrunner pin was Will's favorite $5

Two inch pin with people, funky... $10

Another huge pin with clasp to make it a pendant necklace... $10

Lovely, swingy, rhinestone necklace. Nice length, too! $10

detail of pendant

So that is all for today my friends. Just a few odds and ends and some very pretty jewelry! See you next time I am on the thrifting hunt! Bye!

Monday, May 9, 2011

Hello there! I know I have been absent for a bit. Things have been nuts around here in general and for the last seven days I have had a full blown case of pneumonia! Yes, feaking pneumonia, in May! It was awful and not something I care to repeat.

Today I finally got out and about in the area and found a few small treasures.

Chair detail from deco set

Way cool original leg detail all intact!

Entire set fully functioning with leaf! The set was marked $125! Not bad for one is such great condition.

This enamel top table would be a perfect kitchen island for $45

Two cute chairs with cool lines in need of funky upholstery and paint job from Trader bucks for $30

Goodwill offered this neat gold chair for only $9.99. It is sturdy with nice lines but needs new padding and upholstery.

That is all for today! If all goes well, I may make it to Indy later in the week with a few thrifty stops along the way. See you all soon.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Hello everyone, I have had a busy week and not much time to thrift but somehow managed to fit in a quick and I mean quick trip to The Toggery in Broad Ripple! I had a new load of clothes to drop off for me and a set of items that my sister, Lisa, sent back with me from Florida. We each have a Toggery account! I found some great items there on Tuesday! I just hope the weather warms up enough that I can wear them out of the house! So here goes the list of great buys from this week and how much I love the "shop for free" option!

This is a DKNY maxi dress $20. I love it! It is a maxi, but it comes just to my ankles.

This Chan Lu dress was in the Anthropologie catalogue a couple seasons back. It was only $24 and it is silk and fully lined!

This looks like a sack, but on it was great! It is a James Perse knit dress and at only $16 it will be perfect in the spring and summer sophisticated but not too stuffy. Accessories could change the look of this from beachy to professional.

Cute JCrew top for $12.

Maeve from Anthropologie "rushing ruffles dress" 2010 for only $24! It is adorable on!

The buy of the day! These Raven denim jeans were from a local boutique that sends their overstocks to The Toggery. The original price on these babies was $298 (seriously, who in their right mind?), I bought them off the clearance rack out front for........ $15!!!!!!! They are lovely!

So... those are my finds from my favorite consignment boutique in Indy... and I used the "Shop for free" option where you use the money you made from selling items to purchase new items... so I got all those things for $48! Woooooo Hoooooo! Men just do not understand this! It is so much fun. I hope to check out Carmel Consignment some day next week and I will be back with a review. Until then, Have a wonderful holiday weekend.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Good morning to you all! Yesterday I had a couple of hours to run up to Lafayette, IN. It is about 40 minutes from here in the sticks. All the Lafayette Goodwill stores have recently undergone a renovation and I had not had the chance to check out a couple.... I did not find anything truly amazing, but I did locate a few interesting finds. I was able to add to my Shenango China restaurant ware collection with 6 dinner plates and 4 custard cups! At only $.99 per piece it was a total bargain.... better than Target or vile Wal-mart for sure! I also purchased 2 small serving pieces with bakelite handles at $.49 each, and a darling original painting of a boxer dog!

Here are the pictures of my finds.... my favorite is the dog painting!

Bakelite serving pieces in really nice condition.

This adorable painting fit perfectly on the bookcase! It was $1.99!

This stack of Shenango China, restaurant ware, cost a grand total of $10! I collect Shenango and am always on the lookout for interesting pieces.

A detail of the mark on the back of the plate showing it is authentic Shenango. Inca ware denotes the color more than anything and New Castle, PA is my mother's hometown. The pottery closed in the late 1980's, so it is becoming more and more difficult to find in good condition.

While I am thinking about it I have a quick hint for any of you that are interested in collecting bakelite pieces. Bakelite is a material that gained popularity in the late 1930's and early 1940's. It was a precursor to modern plastics. You often find bakelite used as jewelry or handles on trays, cocktail shakers, or cutlery! Colors vary, but most common are an orange-y yellow or red! I am obsessed with the stuff! If you think you have found something but aren't sure it is real bakelite you can do this simple test: Rub the part that you believe to be bakelite as hard as you can with your thumb until it feels warm and then sniff the area rubbed. If it smells kind of like Formaldehyde it is the real deal!!!! People may look at you strangely, but who cares... it's all in the finding!

I also stopped at an antique store called "Three Blind Mice", 432 Columbia St. Lafayette, IN. I have driven past for years and never had the time to investigate. They almost always have lots of items out on the sidewalk surrounding the store and yesterday was no exception. The only problem was that of all the times I have driven past and thought "I love that!" yesterday I saw exactly nothing of interest. I will stop again in the future and hopefully have better luck.

As I drove out of Lafayette there is a small strip mall across the street from Wabash Commons. I caught sight of a new consignment shop! I turned around in order to investigate further. It is called, "Forever in Blue Jeans" and is located at 237 E. State Street, West Lafayette, IN. They have a website as well at www.foreverinbluejeansconsignment.com I am not fond of the name but I think this shop has potential! They take women's, men's, and children's clothes, shoes and accessories! The shop is new and the inventory is currently rather limited, but if it catches on it could be a fun stop to add to my list. I definitely plan on taking a bunch of Will's clothing in to see if it will sell! I will be sticking with "The Toggery" in Broad Ripple for my clothing since I did not see a lot of high end labels in the women's section. I may even try to unload some men's things if given the chance!

That is all for this evening! Off to do what I usually do... not much! Have a great weekend all!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Good day all! This is going to be fast and furious as I am giving Will lunch and dropping him off at preschool in just a bit. But first things first.... the sale tab at Anthropologie.com is currently very well stocked with "wear it now" options. If you haven't checked the website recently it might be worth your time to do so. I snagged the "Great Dot Maxi Dress" that was originally $158 for $39.99!!! I also signed up my green Anthro card (if you shop there regularly get one) to receive free shipping! Woo hoo! There are a number of great items in the sale section. Here is a quick rundown of my favs...

Sweaters:
The Doolin Cardi: was $128, now $29.25
The Striped Borders Boyfriend: was $118, now $29.95

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About Me

I am a wife and mother, an average woman, over 40 with a young child. I had a 10 year career as an elementary school teacher and a 6 yr career as an education consultant. I found a personal style in college lost all style while teaching elementary school and found it again around age 30 with help from my lovely friend Amy whom I hope will be a contributor on the blog. I firmly believe that personal style is reflected not on only in the clothes we wear but in the things that surround us. Whether your home is an apartment, townhouse, row house, condominium, bungalow or mansion. I have rescued several relatives and friends from the personal style succubus that awaits those who succumb to elastic waist pants and sensible shoes or a home dedicated to the color beige! I am not a trained professional I just know what looks good, what is a good buy, where to spend the dollars available and ideas about how it all adds up in the end. It is a fun world out there... explore, enjoy.. and remember there isn't a color that can't be changed, a pattern that can't be toned down or a personal style that can't be found! Beware beige, I am comin' for you!